Highway toy



May 22, 1951 L. B. POGREBA 2,554,211

HIGHWAY TOY Filed Nov. 9, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Inventor Lea .B. Pogreba y a Attorneys L. B. POGREBA May 22, 1951 HIGHWAY TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 9, 1949 Inventor Leo B. Pagreba Patented May 22, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HIGHWAY TOY Leo B. Pogreba, Philbrook, Minn.

Application November 9, 1949, Serial No. 126,308

' This invention relates to new and useful improvements in toys and the primary object of the present invention is toprovide a toy including a pair of object supporting belts and a manually operated crank handle for rotating one of the belts clockwise and the other of the belts counter-clockwise.

Another important object of the present invention is to provide a highway toy including a manually rotated belt and embodying novel and improved means for detachably securing objects, such as toy vehicles, to the belt.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a highway toy including a hollow pulley having circumferentially spaced openings therein for receiving the teeth of a gear so that the pulley may be quickly and readily rotated.

A still further aim of the present invention is to provide a toy that is simple and practical in construction, strong and reliable in use, small and compact in structure, neat and attractive in appearance, relatively inexpensive to manufacture, and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 2-2 of Figure 3;

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, horizontal sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 44 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially on the plane of section line 5-5 of Figure 2;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary, group, perspective view showing the manner in which the objects or cars are attached to the endless belts; and,

Figure '7 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the endless belt in slightly modified form.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration, there is disclosed a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the numeral it! represents an 3 Claims. (01. 46-1) elongated casing including a pair of spaced parallel side walls [2 and Ill having semi-circular end edges l6 and 18. The edges of the side walls l2 and M are turned inwardly to provide attaching flanges 26.

A bottom wall 22 is secured to the flanges a the lower edges of the side walls and a pair of concavo-convexed end walls E i and 25, integrally formed with the bottom wall 22 overlie and are secured to the flanges on the end edges of the side walls The end flanged portions of a pair of spaced parallel cross-braces 28 and 30 are secured to the side walls l2 and M.

A pair of spaced parallel shafts 32 and 34 are terminally secured to the side walls. A pair of hollow drums or pulleys 36 and 38 are associated with each of the shafts 32 and 34. Each of the pulleys is composed of inner and outer hub forming concavo-convexed side walls 4i) and 32 that are centrally apertured to receive the shafts. The pulleys 36 and 38 are spaced from each other by lugs M pressed from the central portions of the shafts. A crank handle 45 is journaled for rotation on the end wall 24 and the cross brace 28 and supports a gear 48 having teeth 56 for engaging circumferentially spaced apertures 52 in the walls 63 of the pulleys on the shaft 32.

Endless, substantially \l-shaped, pulley belts 56 and 58 are trained about the pulleys 36 and the pulleys 38 and are rotated as the pulleys on the shaft 32 are driven by manual rotation of the crank handle 46. Since the gear 48 is interposed between the pulleys on the shaft 32, one pulley on the shaft 32 will rotate clockwise whereas the other pulley on the shaft 52 will rotate counter-clockwise.

The upper wall 66 of the casing is is joined with the upper edges of the end walls 24 and 26 by vertical partitions 62 and (i l. The upper wall 6%] is provided with a pair of spaced parallel slots and 68 that receive the upper flights of the belts 56 and 58. The partitions 52 and fi l are also provided with vertical slots H3 and 12 that will receive objects attached to the belts 56 and 58.

The central portion of the upper wall is secured and braced to the bottom wall 22 by a bar M the upper end of which supports an object, such as an imitation gas pump I6 that rises from the upper wall 60.

Figures 5 and 6 show one method for detachably securing objects on the belts. This method consists of substantially L-shaped brackets 18 having their shorter legs positioned in recesses 80 in the belts. Fasteners 82 extend through the shorter legs of the brackets 18 and the belts. Objects, such as toy vehicles 84, are mounted on the belts and their side portions 86 and 88 are connected by fasteners or bolts 90 that also extend through the brackets 18. Spacer sleeves 92 and 94 are received on the bolts 90 and are positioned between the brackets 18 and the sides 86 and 88 of the vehicles.

Another method for securing the objects or toy vehicles on the belts is shown in Figure 7 wherein lugs or humps 96 are integrally formed, with the belts. The lugs 96 are provided with bores 98 that will receive the bolts 90 and the sides of the toy vehicles will bear against the ends of the lugs.

The toy vehicles on the belt 56 and 58 face in opposite directions or the directions in which the belts move so that the toy vehicles will appear to pass the pump 16 as two lane traffic on a highway when the crank handle is rotated.

In view of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings it is believed that a clear understanding of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed descripition is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprehended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An amusement device comprising an elongated casing, a first shaft at one end of the easing, a second shaft at the other end of the casing, a first pair of drums journaled on the first shaft, a further pair of drums journaled on the second shaft, 21. pair of object supporting belts trained about the drums of the first pair of drums and the further pair of drums, said first pair of drums being hollow and each having a plurality of circumferentially spaced openings therein, a rod journaled on the housing and disposed perpendicularly to said shafts, and a gear on said rod having teeth for entering the openings in both drums of said first pair of drums to rotate the first pair of drums as the rod is rotated.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said casing includes a pair of spaced side walls joined and braced by said shafts.

3. A toy comprising an elongated casing including a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls, first and second spaced parallel transverse shafts joining and bracing the side walls of said casing, said shafts being disposed adjacent the end Walls, a first pair of pulleys journaled on said first shaft and a second pair of pulleys journaled on the second shaft, a pair of endless belts trained about the first pulleys and the second pulleys, objects supported on said belts, a rod journaled on one end wall of said casing and disposed perpendicularly to the shafts and extending between the pulleys of said first pair of pulleys, and a gear fixed on said rod and having teeth, said first pair of pulleys including hollow hub portions having circumferentially spaced openings for receiving said teeth as the rod is manually rotated.

LEO B. POGREBA.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 311,220 Anderson Jan. 2'7, 1885 836,681 Gilman Nov. 27, 1906 885,350 Lehy Apr. 21, 1908 1,030,643 Cavanagh June 25, 1912 1,524,615 Diederichs Jan. 27, 1925 1,895,871 Vlahov Jan. 31, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 194,173 Great Britain Mar. 8, 1923 

